Harmony and Hope: Free community event

We constantly hear from our patients how important they feel it is to find enjoyment in the small things. Lynn Davidson, one of our guest bloggers, says, “Life and all those things contained therein don’t stop with the diagnosis of cancer. We have to continue on … celebrating birthdays, planning vacations, looking forward to the spring planting and ... making the hard decisions. Cancer isn't our lives - just a part of them.”

We’re excited to present “Harmony and Hope: A musical celebration to recognize our patients and their families.”

Together we can enjoy the music of internationally acclaimed Cape Breton fiddlers Andrea Beaton & Glenn Graham and Bagpiper Colin Gemmell.

“We hope this night will be the first of many to come as we work to create an arts program that encourages our patients to interact with their care team and other patients on a non-medical level,” says Dr. James Lechner, medical director, Providence Regional Cancer System. “When people undergo treatment for a disease like cancer it’s incredibly beneficial to maintain a sense of self that doesn’t revolve around being a patient.”

The event is free and refreshments will be provided. And, if we're lucky, Dr. Lechner may even play his fiddle too!

Thursday, January 27, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Providence Regional Cancer System and RadiantCare
4525 Third Avenue SE
Lacey, WA 98503
Get Directions

To RSVP, call 360.493.7768
For more information e-mail: Roy Olpin, PRCS Service Line Director

This event is brought to you by Providence Integrative Cancer Care, part of Providence Regional Cancer System and RadiantCare Radiant Oncology

Free tool: Charting your family health history

Happy Thanksgiving from Providence Regional Cancer System.

While Thanksgiving has traditionally been (and will continue to be) about giving thanks and celebrating family we’re pretty excited about the Surgeon General’s declaration of Thanksgiving Day also being National Family History Day. It is the hope of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that families start to talk about their family health history. What better place than the Thanksgiving table! Well actually, we can think of better places, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you talk.

A recent survey found that 96 percent of Americans agree about the importance of knowing their family history…yet the same survey found only 1/3 of those same Americans had ever tried to write down the facts. 

Health care professionals have known for a long time that common diseases - heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - and rare diseases - like hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia - can run in families. If one generation of a family has high blood pressure, it is not unusual for the next generation to have similarly high blood pressure. Tracing the illnesses suffered by your parents, grandparents, and other blood relatives can help your doctor predict the disorders to which you may be at risk and take action to keep you and your family healthy. Reference >>

The great news is the surgeon general has made it incredibly easy to compile this information in one place using their My Family Health Portrait Web tool. The secure website asks the same health information your doctor would ask, creates a "pedigree" specifically for you, gives you the chance to download it and then deletes the information. Yes that's right. The government does not keep a record of what you typed in.

So this Thanksgiving, enjoy your turkey (or your tofurkey), sit down with your family and talk about your health history ... it could be the greatest gift you ever get and give.

"I take one blue pill and three pink pills twice a day."

You would be surprised to learn just how often our clincial staff hear those same exact words. Or maybe, "I take 10 mg every day for my blood pressure." Our next question is almost always, "10mg of what?"

It may not seem like a big deal but the importance of knowing the medications you are on can never be stressed enough. With thousands of drugs being prescribed every day, not to mention the availability of natural remedies you can understand how confusing it may be for us to narrow down your drug just by color or mg. So why do we care? Medication reconciliation helps us to optimize the drug therapy you are on while also reducing the adverse side effects that can occur when two drugs are mixed (ie: taking St. John's Wort during chemotherapy reduces the effectiveness of the chemotherapy).

 What falls under the category of things we want to know about?

• Prescription medications (including any sample medications you have been given)
• Vitamins
• Over-the-counter drugs
• Vaccines
• Diagnostics and contrast agents
• Radioactive materials
• Respiratory therapy-related medications
• Blood derivatives
• Intravenous solutions
• Any other produt the FDA has designated as a drug

In all honesty, if you're putting it in your body we want to know about it. Need a place to put it all? You can pick up a personal pocket medication card in any of our clinics or you can request we mail you one by sending us your address.

The inside of the "Personal Pocket Medication Card" provides space for you to write all the information your care team needs.

What is lymphedema and where can I get help?

Lymphedema is the collection of excess fluid in an arm or leg (or surrounding areas) that results from damage to the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system has two jobs:

1. Fighting off infections, viruses and cancer cells
2. Transportation of proteins and waste products, which are used cells (muscle, blood, bone, etc.) that your body will recycle and reuse

When this system is damaged from cancer or its treatments, fluid, protein and used cells back up into the involved extremity, causing it to swell.

What is the lymphatic system?
Up until now, you have probably heard all sorts of information about your immune system, white blood cell counts, and infections. These make up half of your lymphatic system’s daily duties, one if which is to recognize and take care of bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. The other half of its job is to filter and transport all of the by-products made by the body during the course of the day, such as the old red blood cells, muscle cells, bone cells, etc. Along with recycling these cells, it hauls around protein to provide energy and even absorbs many of the nutrients from our food!

These fluids travel along small vessels that are just below the skin from the tips of our fingers and toes up towards the center of our body. Along the way, fluid is processed in lymph nodes to make sure it is safe to be put back into circulation. The main stopping points are the groin, for the legs, and the armpits, for the arms. Once it passes a checkpoint, the cleansed fluid joins your blood in your heart. It is then free to be filtered by your kidneys and liver.

Where do I go for more information about lymphedema?
Your best bet is to see a lymphedema therapist who can assess your specific situation and provide the most appropriate education. Lymphedema therapists are available at local Providence facilities, including Providence Centralia Hospital (PCH), Providence St. Peter’s Hospital (PSPH) and Providence Sound Home Care and Hospice in Olympia (PSHCH).

These services are provided by physical therapists (PT) at PCH and occupational therapists (OT) at PSPH and PSHCH. You must have a referral from your physician for a “PT Evaluation” or “OT evaluation” depending on the requested facility along with a diagnosis of lymphedema.

Contact information is as follows:

• Providence Centralia Hospital
  914 S. Scheuber Road
  Centralia, WA 98531
  360.330.8720
• Providence St. Peters Hospital 
  410 Providence Lane NE
  Emilie Gamelin Pavilion 3rd Floor 
  Olympia, WA 98506-5166
  360.493.4159
• Providence Sound Home Care and Hospice
  3432 South Bay Road NE
  Olympia, WA 98506
  800.869.7062

You can also find some basic information on the National Lymphedema Network’s website at www.lymphnet.org. The areas of most beneficial information are under the Lymphedema FAQs tab at the top left. All of the options under this tab will provide additional useful information. The information on this website is all based on research and scientific findings.

Free comfort cap pattern

Hair loss during chemotherapy is not guaranteed but does affect a large percentage of patients. During this time of holiday giving several Thurston County 4-H clubs took it upon themselves to make more than 40 adult sized hats for patients at the Providence Regional Cancer System, Lacey Clinic.

Using the Husqvarna/Viking sewing pattern for comfort caps and fabric donated anonymously by local community members the youth sewed caps and wrote personal notes to go along with each donation.

The response couldn’t be better. Patients enjoy the softness and the fact that they are reversible but the notes inside each hat is what makes them truly special. “It always brings a smile when the patient reads it,” says Rosemary King, patient service representative at PRCS, Lacey, “Everyone remarks what a wonderful, thoughtful thing for these kids to do.”

Barbara Wollstein, 4-H program assistant remarks, “The kids had a great time sewing the caps knowing they were going to such a deserving place.” 4-H is a youth development program that uses projects such as sewing, animals, arts, etc. as a means of teaching youth life skills to become caring and contributing citizens. You can check out the State 4-H website for general information about 4-H or the Thurston County 4-H website.